---

Background and aim:The current research provides a word association test and determine its validity and reliability in Persian (farsi) language.
Materials and methods: A word association test was administered to a group of twenty girls and twenty one boys that were similar in age and education. Based on Goldfarb's word association test , word stimuli were balanced according to frequency of occurrence (frequent, infrequent), word length (short, long), abstraction level (low , medium, high) ,and grammatical class (noun ,verb, adjective ) . Based on "Recognition basic word's Iranian student in primary school"(nemat zade,1384),180 words were selected. This words scored by experts. Seventy two words were selected . The test administered in oral on the first grade students .Then responses were coded as paradigmatic or sytagmatic . Results were analyzed by Maknamar and Capa test.
Results: Findings show high correlation between first and second test in three grammatical Class (noun, verb, adjective, p=0/001).High correlation exists between two stages of test.
Conclusion: These findings show word association test is valid and reliable .This is usable in assessment of semantic development and language development.

---

Background and Aim: Several recent studies have suggested that young children who stutter tend to show depressed lexical performance relative to peers. Children who stutter was produced fewer total verbs and fewer different verbs than peers did, but these differences can not be attributed to increased general all-purpose verb use. Production of gap verbs was similar between the groups. The fact that the children who stutter produce significantly fewer verbs in their samples relative to peers and overall lexical diversity would be impacted by children who stutter producing fewer total and fewer different verbs. Likewise, if children who stutter produced fewer verbs than peers did, mean length utterance should be impacted, as well due to challenge in learning verbs in children it is important to assess lexical diversity in children. 

Material and Methods: This research was a descriptive-analysis study and cases was selected in speech therapy clinics that conducted on 57 non-stutter children and 13 stutter children (primary school).Due to effects of some distortion factors on the frequency of core vocabulary, we have some exclusion criteria such as: neurological disorders, language disorder, color blinded and etc. The qualified subject entered the test. Then stutter's children implemented 100 words test to access in percent and severity of stuttering. Comparison of frequency of core vocabulary implemented   by word articulation test and word perceptive test and we register frequency of perceptive and expressive vocabulary in noun, verb and adjective category.

Result: The result of this study reveal that mean of frequency of expressive and receptive vocabulary in noun category in stutter children is lesser than non stutter children. There was significant difference between stutter children and non stutter children in frequency of expressive and receptive vocabulary in noun category.  The mean of frequency of expressive and receptive vocabulary in adjective category in stutter children is lesser than non-stutter children. There was not significant difference between stutter children and non stutter children in frequency of expressive and receptive vocabulary in adjective category.  The mean of frequency of expressive and receptive vocabulary in verb category in stutter children is lesser than non-stutter children. But there was not significant difference between stutter children and non stutter children in frequency of expressive vocabulary in verb category. There was significant difference between stutter children and non stutter children in frequency of receptive vocabulary in verb category.

Conclusion: :The results of this research indicate that  frequency of expressive and receptive vocabulary in noun category in stutter children is significantly lesser than non-stutter children and stutter effect on frequency of expressive and receptive vocabulary in noun category. The frequency of expressive vocabulary in verb category in stutter children was not significantly lesser than non stutter children but frequency of receptive vocabulary in verb category in stutter children is significantly lesser than non stutter children and stutter effect on frequency of receptive vocabulary in verb category. The frequency of expressive and receptive vocabulary in adjective category in stutter children was not significantly lesser than non stutter children and stutter does not effect on frequency of expressive and receptive vocabulary in adjective category.

---

Background and Aim: Naming test is an appropriate tool for assessing, diagnosing and treating word finding difficulties in Aphasic patients. Considering the importance of this test and lack of such kinds of tests in the field of verb in Farsi, the purpose of this research is to provide a verb-naming test in Persian.
Materials and Methods: In order to provide the tool based on the foreign samples, the common traits are exploited according to selection the verbs and based on the frequency criteria, Acquisition age, length of word, and investigating the inferior studies, 132 Persian verbs were chosen and picture of the selected verbs were drawn. They were offered to 15 experts to give points to the pictures based on the previous criteria of our research including familiarity, imagination and beauty of viewing. The mean score of obtained points was computed and 50 verbs were selected out of 132 suggested verbs.
Results: Findings of this study showed that the selected verbs were of high frequency verbs. Also they are those verbs which have lowers acquisition age. Most of the verbs were compound and it indicates that in Persian language compound verbs are of high frequency. Moreover, it appeared that high objectivity degree caused to high scores of imagination. Then most of the verbs were objective verbs.
Conclusion: Finally 50 verbs with their related pictures made this naming test. It is worth mentioning that remaining verbs were ranked based on their scores.

---

Background and aim: Various studies indicate that background noise affects speech recognition ability of bilingual listeners (BL) more than monolingual ones (ML). However, no study has engaged in the speech recognition performance of Turkish-Persian bilinguals in the background noise. The purpose of the present study was to compare word recognition scores (WRSs) in the continuous and interrupted noises among ML Persian and BL Turkish-Persian young adults. 

Material and methods: The cross- sectional analytical study was conducted by presenting speech stimuli in quiet and in the background continuous and interrupted noises at signal to noise ratios (SNRs) of -20, -10, 0, +10 dB. Two groups of 33 ML Persian and 36 BL Turkish- Persian subjects with age ranging from eighteen to twenty-five years old participated   

Results: The degree of reduction in WRSs was significantly higher in the continuous noise relative to the interrupted one at four studied SNRs (p<0.0001) Moreover, the difference between WRSs of ML Persian and BL Turkish-Persian groups in the presence of both continuous (p≤0.001) and interrupted (p=0.002) noises was significant.

Conclusion: It seems that Persian-words recognition ability of Turkish-Persian BLs reduces more than Persian MLs in the background noises and continuous noise affects speech perception ability more than interrupted one. 

---

Background and aim: Various studies indicate that background noise affects speech recognition ability of bilingual listeners (BL) more than monolingual ones (ML). However, no study has engaged in the speech recognition performance of Turkish-Persian bilinguals in the background noise. The purpose of the present study was to compare word recognition scores (WRSs) in the continuous and interrupted noises among ML Persian and BL Turkish-Persian young adults.

Material and methods: The cross- sectional analytical study was conducted by presenting speech stimuli in quiet and in the background continuous and interrupted noises at signal to noise ratios (SNRs) of -20, -10, 0, +10 dB. Two groups of 33 ML Persian and 36 BL Turkish- Persian subjects with age ranging from eighteen to twenty-five years old participated   

 Results: The degree of reduction in WRSs was significantly higher in the continuous noise relative to the interrupted one at four studied SNRs (p<0.0001) Moreover, the difference between WRSs of ML Persian and BL Turkish-Persian groups in the presence of both continuous (p≤0.001) and interrupted (p=0.002) noises was significant.

Conclusion: It seems that Persian-words recognition ability of Turkish-Persian BLs reduces more than Persian MLs in the background noises and continuous noise affects speech perception ability more than interrupted one. 

---

Background and Aim: A Concrete and Abstract Word Synonym Test is a test which assessed semantic system in patients with acquired language disorder specifically semantic impairment. The aim of this study is to design a valid and reliable test for assessment of comprehension of concrete and abstract words in different types of aphasia.

 

Materials and Methods: The type of study is test construction and was computed as cross-sectional. First, a collection of words based on frequency were chosen in order to construct the test. These words were given to 15 experts (10 speech and language pathologists and 5 linguists) in 3 stages, in order to rate words with 0-100 scale. Then words, which had higher average than 90 score were chosen. After determining face and content validity, the test was performed on subjects. Subjects included 20 aphasic patients (12 men and 8 women) and 50 normal people (28 men and 22 women) ranging in age from 20 to 65 years. After 5 to 7 days, to determine reliability of test, test was performed on subjects again. Results of this study were analyzed by SPSS 16.

 

Results: Results showed that this test has a higher validity than %90. Coronbach alpha for internal consistency was 0.500. For investigation of test-retest reliability, mean difference of test scores in 2 stages of administration was significance (p<0.038). Pearson correlation coefficient between mean scores of patients in 2stages were 0.857 and ICC range was 0.857-0.923 that was significant (p<0.001). The cut of point of test was also 46. Comparison of mean scores of concrete and abstract word synonym test in patients and normal people and also in patient with temporal lesion showed significant difference (p<0.001).

 

Conclusion: A Concrete and Abstract Word Synonym Test is a proper tool for assessing semantic system in aphasic patients and it can indicate semantic impairment in these patients.

 

Keywords: Synonym comprehension test, Concrete and abstract words, Validity, Reliability, Aphasia, Semantic impairment.

---

Background and Aim: In order to compare word definition skill between bilingual and monolingual SLI (specific language impairment), we can investigate characteristics of these children and limited processing capacity (LPC) hypothesis about SLI.

Materials and Methods: Six (7-8 years old) bilingual (Azeri- Persian) children with specific language impairment were evaluated about their word definition and then compared with 12 normal children. Impaired children were diagnosed as exhibiting a significant delay (more than one year) in language that cannot be explained by intelligence deficits, hearing loss or visual impairment. We used specific language impairment and language development tests for diagnosis and Man Whitney and Wilcox tests for analyzing data.

Result:  There is no meaningful difference between bilingual and monolingual children with SLI (p=0.394) (p=0.394).There is meaningful difference in structural aspect of definition skills (p=0.02) between Persian and Azeri language of bilingual children but in content aspect there is not significant difference (p=0.17).

Conclusion:  Findings showed that there is no meaningful difference in comparison between Bilingual and monolingual children with SLI. Therefore, LPC hypothesis about SLI is rejected.

 Keyword: Specific language impairment, Bilingualism, Monolingual, Word definition skill.

---

Background and Aim: Measures of oral diadochokinesis are widely used in the assessment and detecting motor speech disorders and functional abnormalities of speech performance. Preschoolers have great difficulties with this clinical task. One reason for this problem is application of using of non-words in the test. Since, such words were not designed in Farsi; therefore we compared some words and non-words repetitive articulatory rate in preschool children.

Materials and Methods: In this analytic cross-sectional study design, 142 children (65 boys & 77 girls) aged 4 to 6 years old were participated. We compared timing for 10 fast repetitions between two meaningful words /motæk&Lambda;, gol&Lambda;bi/ and tri-syllabic sequences /p&Lambda;t&Lambda;k&Lambda;/. Data was analyzed by repeated measures of ANOVA test.

Results: In children aged 4 to 5 years old, mean ± SD of timing for 10 repetitions of /p&Lambda;t&Lambda;k&Lambda;, motæk&Lambda;, gol&Lambda;bi/ were 7.72±1.02, 6.58±1.68 & 6.65±1.13 seconds respectively, and in children aged 5 to 6 years, were 7.57±0.95, 6.35±1.38 & 6.30±1.01 seconds respectively. This Analysis showed that regardless of all factors, the main effect of type of words on oral diadochokinesis was significant (p=0.0001). There were no other significant main effects or interactions.

Conclusion: Children aged 4 to 6 years old could repeat meaningful words /motæk&Lambda;, gol&Lambda;bi/ faster than non-word /p&Lambda;t&Lambda;k&Lambda;/. Sex and age group factors had not significant effect on oral diadochokinesis function. Finally, it is suggested that speech therapists can examine this ability with meaningful words.

Keywords: Oral diadochokinesis, Word, Non-word